President signs Udall’s ski area bill into law

The Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act will ease Forest Service permitting for resort offerings like the new downhill mountain bike trail at Steamboat.

President Obama has signed Sen. Mark Udall’s Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act into law. The new law slightly changes the 1986 National Forest Ski Area Permit Act, allowing the agency to more easily consider and permit a broader range of ski resort activities on federal land beyond just skiing. The agency now has legislative direction to mull activities like mountain biking, zip lines and concerts on federal land.

“After five years of pushing this through Congress, I am ecstatic that my bill has finally been signed into law. It’s a sign that, even after the contentious year we’ve had in Washington, we can still come together to pass a common-sense fix for communities around the country,” Udall said in a statement released Monday. “It’s not just the local outdoor enthusiasts who benefit from this change; more recreational opportunities are a bigger draw for tourists, who spur economic development in our mountain areas and inject much-needed revenue during slower months and otherwise-tight times. I’ll keep working with the Forest Service and Colorado ski areas to help implement the new law in a way that makes sense for our communities.”

Emilie Rusch covers retail and commercial real estate for The Post. A Wisconsin native and Mizzou graduate, she moved to Colorado in 2012. Before that, she worked at a small daily newspaper in South Dakota. It's the one with Mount Rushmore.